The assembly of tubing requires that lengths of tubes be cut to predetermined lengths, with the ends thereof cut square such that the ends of the tubing may be welded to adjacent lengths of tubing. Where tubing is not cut square or is not cut to the correct length, there will be spaces when the tubing is assembled. The spaces at the end of the tubing require additional welding time to produce a weld. Where the specifications require a higher quality of weld, it may be necessary to discard a poorly cut length of pipe having an end which is not square or is cut too short.
Machines are available for cutting a square end to a length of pipe. The typical cutting machine includes a housing with a central opening and at the forward end of the housing a pivot member which retains a cutting tool and is rotatable around the central opening. At the rearward end of the housing is a vise to retain a workpiece with the axis thereof perpendicular to the plane of cut of the cutting tool.
Existing tube saws include a vise structure which is retained by bolts and the like to the housing for retaining the rotating cutting member. Such machines are large and bulky and are expensive to manufacture because they have a plurality of parts which must be assembled in side-by-side relationship, with each of the parts having several machined surfaces to form parallel planar forward and rear surfaces such that the assembled vise will retain a workpiece perpendicular to the cut of the cutting tool. The machining of parallel surfaces dramatically increases the cost of manufacture of such machines.
Existing machines rely upon the ability of the operator to accurately position a workpiece with respect to the saw blade to cut a workpiece to the desired length. However, it is difficult to visually inspect the cutting tool of such machines to see where it will cut a work piece. This is because the cutting blade must be positioned near the vise and away from the front of the machine to minimize the bending of the pipe during the cutting operation.
It would be desirable to provide a machine that is less expensive to manufacture because it does not require the assembly of a multiplicity of parts having precision machined surfaces. It would also be desirable to provide a machine having a vise which is positioned near the rotatable saw blade such that the pipe can be sawed with a minimum of bending and yet be visible to an operator. Furthermore, it would be desirable to provide a machine for which an operator can readily align the blade of the machine with a cut line on a workpiece.